Opening Day is finally here (sorry, it just didn’t feel right starting the season on Sunday night at Wrigley Field). Players that are injured have now officially been placed on the disabled list which allows you to make any necessary transactions since most sites don’t permit placement in a DL slot unless a player is actually on a MLB team’s disabled list. But it also allows you some flexibility to add injured players and immediately move them to DL. Some leagues do not permit such transactions, but under normal circumstances it is a generally accepted practice.
We have documented the numerous players that were injured during spring training, but for the Opening Day edition of the injury report we are going to take a look at some options for long-term stashing. Keep in mind that you should only consider stashing players if you are in a deep fantasy baseball league with sufficient roster space or available DL spots.
Cliff Lee (SP-PHI)
The reality is that Cliff Lee likely won’t throw a single pitch this season or possibly ever again. He is currently on the 60-day disabled list with the same arm injury that cost him most of 2014. However, he has avoided having surgery and even tried pitching through the pain during spring training. He will have another couple months to try rest and rehab, so there is still a miniscule chance he attempts a comeback later this spring or summer. If you have multiple DL spots, then it is worth stashing Lee in the off chance he makes a recovery. You can always drop him later if any of your active players need to take his spot.
Matt Moore (SP-TB)
People seem to forget that Jose Fernandez was not the only talented young pitcher who needed Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2014 season. Matt Moore might be back around the same time Fernandez makes his return, but Moore is likely floating around your league’s waiver wire. The Rays will slowly ease him back into their rotation if he can avoid any setbacks, but he could be worth stashing as a low risk/high reward boost for the second half.
Mike Minor (SP-ATL)
The numbers were ugly in 2014, but he was very productive as recently as 2013. Minor will start the season on the disabled list with a left rotator cuff injury, but he has resumed throwing and could be back at some point in May. There are a number of red flags that pop up when thinking about Minor this year including the fact that the Braves just traded away Craig Kimbrel which will unquestionably cost Atlanta starters some wins throughout the season. If you have roster space in a deep league, he is worth a $0 add for speculative purposes.
Michael Saunders (OF-TOR)
When the Blue Jays acquired Saunders, he immediately became someone I wanted to target in drafts thanks to his power and speed combination. Thanks to a freak injury in spring training, we will have to wait to see how Saunders will fit into Toronto’s loaded lineup. He is likely available as a free agent in many standard 12-team leagues, so he can be had for very little right now. The Blue Jays have a powerful lineup that is dominated by right-handed bats, so Saunders will provide a nice change of pace and have the fortune of playing home games at the Rogers Centre. Don’t wait too long to grab him off the waiver wire because he could incite a FAAB bidding war once he gets closer to being activated.
Kris Medlen (SP-KC)
Medlen was one of the hottest fantasy pitchers just a couple years ago, but a second Tommy John surgery has derailed his once promising career. Medlen is now looking to make his comeback with Kansas City and finally threw his first bullpen session a couple weeks ago. He is clearly a very high risk player due to his injury history, but he proved to be a very effective fantasy pitcher when healthy. There is a chance Medlen could make his return after the All Star break, but don’t stash him with any type of expectations.
Josh Reddick (OF-OAK)
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. However, the third time could be the charm. Reddick was a great source of power back in 2012, but he has been limited by injuries the past couple years which have severely hindered his fantasy value. Reddick will begin the season on the DL as he recovers from an oblique strain, but the opportunity will be there for him to reclaim his spot in the lineup thanks to other injuries in Oakland’s outfield. There is not much reason to trust him, but if you are in a very deep mixed league or an AL-only league, Reddick could be a sneaky source of power at a cheap price and he may be back as soon as within a couple weeks.
Josh Johnson (SP-SD)
Disclaimer – I feel duty bound and obligated to stop you from even considering this as an option. Do NOT even think about it. I don’t care how much you value the three years in his career that he stayed healthy, Josh Johnson does not belong on a fantasy baseball roster. There are few other players that have received as much fantasy hype despite failing to provide any type of consistent or even productive statistics over the course of so many years. Even if Johnson does make it back to San Diego later in the season, let someone else be disappointed by him again.
Michael A. Stein, Esq. is the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, the industry's premier dispute resolution service, and is also the co-host of the Fantasy Alarm podcast. You can contact him at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com or on Facebook and Twitter (@FantasyJudgment),